By Jessie Fanczi
Not only is Elizabeth Gibson ‘10 an emerging researcher, author and award winner in the field of biochemistry, she still makes time for her passion of music by leading worship at Woodmont Bible Church in Nashville, Tennessee.
Dr. Elizabeth Gibson
Gibson came to Reinhardt as an undergraduate because she didn’t want to choose between studying music and biology, a choice that other schools would have required her to make. Her professors worked together to create a schedule that allowed her to major in Sacred Music while filling course requirements for pharmacy school.
Gibson stayed busy outside the classroom as a piano and organ player, Campus Ministries intern and Reinhardt Admissions Captain.
While taking potential students on tours around campus during her time as a captain, Gibson enjoyed sharing her unique experience.
“I loved being able to tell my story of my dual science and music pathways,” said Gibson. “I want others to know that Reinhardt helped me personalize my education to reach my career goals.”
In January 2019, Gibson defended her dissertation at Vanderbilt University and received her second doctorate, the Ph.D.in Pharmacology; her first being a Pharm. D. from Lipscomb University.
Currently developing new antibiotics to combat antimicrobial resistant infections, Gibson is an award-winning researcher and scholar. Her awards include the Leon W. Cunningham Graduate Student Award for Excellence in Biochemistry at Vanderbilt and the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Walmart Scholar Award. She has traveled to New Orleans and Washington, D.C. to present her research, and is the author of a chapter in the book, “Antimicrobial Resistance in the 21st Century.”
When she’s not in the lab, Gibson spends her time mastering new instruments, including the dulcimer, banjo and accordion. She remains thankful for the opportunities that allowed her to keep both her passions alive.
